MEGA PHONIES
by Kim Dreamcatcher
Summary: 4TH IN SERIES: MegaGirl discovers something suspicious going on in the Museum of Science. Will she be able to warn MegaMan in time?


MEGA PHONIES  
  
"Wow! This is so exciting!" MegaGirl confessed openly.  
  
"Really, MegaGirl. It's no big deal," MegaMan tried to convince his new partner as they walked into the Museum of Science, followed by Dr. Light, Roll, Rush, and Misty, who was perched on MegaGirl's shoulder.  
  
"MegaMan, they're dedicating an entire exhibit to you and everything you've done, and you call that no big deal?" MegaGirl remarked.  
  
"Excuse me, Dr. Light?"  
  
Upon hearing his name, Dr. Light turned around, along with MegaMan, MegaGirl, Roll, Rush, and Misty. They were facing a middle-aged man with shoulder-length dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. The man was wearing a charcoal gray suit with a white dress shirt, a black tie, and black dress shoes.  
  
"I'm Mr. Murphy, the curator of the Museum of Science. It's an honor to have you all here," the man introduced himself.  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Murphy," Dr. Light replied as he and Mr. Murphy shook hands.  
  
"Now, if you'll just follow me to the Robotics Wing, I can give you a premiere tour of the new exhibit I told you about," Mr. Murphy explained as he led MegaMan, Dr. Light, Rush, Roll, MegaGirl, and Misty to the wing of the museum dedicated to the science of robotics.  
  
"Look at that, MegaMan! It's a working scale mobile of the solar system," MegaGirl announced as she pointed up at a large mechanical mobile of the solar system that was attached to the ceiling. "It even mimics the planets' orbits around the sun and their individual rotations."  
  
"That's correct, MegaGirl. How did you know about this?" Mr. Murphy asked curiously.  
  
"Oh, umm...Miranda told me about it. She even told me about the display dedicated to her grandfather, and my creator, Dr. Stoutenburg," MegaGirl explained.  
  
"Yes, Dr. Stoutenburg was a great inventor. He was very gracious in his donations to our museum during his lifetime, whether it was in the form of money or some of his earlier inventions for our displays. And right here is one of the first inventions that Dr. Stoutenburg donated to the Museum of Science," Mr. Murphy replied as he approached a display case in the center of the room. Resting on top of the display case was a large metal sphere about the size of a bowling ball, encased in a glass dome.  
  
"This is a high-tech supercomputer brain, capable of anything that a human brain can do," Mr. Murphy explained.  
  
"I recall Dr. Stoutenburg demonstrating this particular invention at his lecture that I attended during my college years," Dr. Light admitted. "It is capable of calculating complex mathematical equations, formulating detailed strategies, designing intricate blueprints, and has a registered IQ of over 200. To be perfectly honest, seeing this invention was what first inspired me to create BrainBot."  
  
"That's pretty amazing, Dr. Light," Roll confessed as Rush nodded his head in agreement.  
  
"Now, let's go to the exhibit I told you about earlier. You will be the first to see our brand-new exhibit dedicated to you, MegaMan. The display won't be officially open to the public until the museum opens tomorrow morning," Mr. Murphy revealed as he approached a large red curtain blocking off a display room in the corner of the Robotics Wing, with a security guard standing next to the curtain. The guard acknowledged the museum curator's presence with a slight nod as he allowed Mr. Murphy, Dr. Light, MegaMan, Roll, Rush, MegaGirl, and Misty to enter the temporarily closed- off exhibit.  
  
Dr. Light, MegaMan, Roll, Rush, and MegaGirl gasped loudly out of astonishment. The display was a long hall with several life-size statues of robots. All along the hall were a total of thirty-five statues of all of Dr. Wily's robots, each including a small metal sign with the robot's name and type of attack. At the end of the hall were four small pedestals, one with a statue of MegaMan, one with a statue of Rush, and a third with a statue of Roll.  
  
"Wow! I had no idea Dr. Wily created so many robots," MegaGirl admitted as she walked down the hall and looked at the several replicas of Dr. Wily's robots, finally stopping when she reached the statue of ProtoMan at the end. "They look so real. I wouldn't be surprised if they jumped out at us."  
  
"There's no need to worry about that. These replicas are all composed of metal frames with a fiberglass shell and a coat of metallic paint. These were all specially crafted for our new exhibit. There is no other set like this in existence," Mr. Murphy revealed.  
  
As Mr. Murphy talked to MegaGirl, Rush slowly approached the statue of GutsMan, curiously sniffing at it. To Rush's surprise, the statue of GutsMan suddenly kicked him away.  
  
"Grrr..." Rush growled angrily as he got back up on his feet.  
  
"Take it easy, Rush! It's only a statue!" Roll remarked as she pulled Rush away from the GutsMan statue, never seeing the statue kick the robotic dog.  
  
"Mr. Murphy, why is there an empty space over there?" MegaMan asked curiously, pointing at a small empty pedestal next to the statue of himself.  
  
"That's for the statue of MegaGirl. Unfortunately, that one won't be finished until late tonight. It'll be delivered to the museum early tomorrow morning before it officially opens to the public," Mr. Murphy explained.  
  
"Wow! I'm flattered that you're including me in the exhibit, Mr. Murphy," MegaGirl confessed.  
  
As MegaMan, MegaGirl, Roll, Rush, Dr. Light, and Mr. Murphy left the display through the curtain, the statue of ProtoMan slowly turned his head towards the curtain and watched them all leave.  
  
"Okay, they're gone now, but keep quiet," ProtoMan whispered as he stepped off of the small pedestal. In response, GutsMan, CutMan, and BrightMan also stepped off of their pedestals one by one.  
  
"How much longer do we have to wait in here, ProtoMan?" BrightMan asked curiously.  
  
"Just until these humans leave the museum, then we can snatch that bowling ball of a computer brain for Wily," ProtoMan whispered as he carefully peeked through the curtain at the large crowd of people inside of the museum. His eyes fell on MegaGirl, who was looking up at the mechanical mobile of the solar system, and a small smile formed on his face. ProtoMan's expression soon turned grim when he saw MegaMan approach MegaGirl.  
  
"If you think that's interesting, MegaGirl, you should see this replica of the space station over there," MegaMan announced, pointing to the other side of the room.  
  
"All right, MegaMan," MegaGirl agreed.  
  
"Thanks a lot, little brother!" ProtoMan grumbled angrily under his breath as MegaMan and MegaGirl walked away to go look at another exhibit on the other side of the room. He closed the curtain and turned around to face GutsMan, CutMan, and BrightMan. "Did you remember to hide those statues, like I told you to?"  
  
"We were supposed to hide them?" GutsMan asked curiously as he scratched his head.  
  
"You robo dopes! If someone sees those statues of us, our covers are blown!" ProtoMan whispered angrily. He groaned under his breath out of frustration as he walked to the back of the room. "When you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. Keep an eye out," ProtoMan instructed the three robots before going through a door marked EMERGENCY EXIT...  
  
"So, you've actually been up to the space station before, MegaMan?" MegaGirl asked curiously as she looked up at the large replica of the space station, which was suspended in the air by thick cables attached to the ceiling.  
  
"Yeah, a long time ago. Wily was after this super lens being kept at the space station, which was part of a sun-focusing super laser located on the moon," MegaMan explained.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I remember hearing about that in the news," MegaGirl recalled as she glanced around the room. She gasped slightly when she saw that the wall clock read 7:38 PM.  
  
"I better get going now, MegaMan. I got some homework to finish and I have school early tomorrow morning," MegaGirl whispered to MegaMan. "I'll definitely be here when they open up the new exhibit tomorrow after school."  
  
"All right, MegaGirl. See you tomorrow," MegaMan replied.  
  
"See ya," MegaGirl replied as she walked away from MegaMan, Roll, Rush, and Dr. Light, with Misty perched on her shoulder. She soon noticed that the museum was completely packed. "There's gotta be an easier way to get out of here," MegaGirl muttered out loud.  
  
"If you're in a hurry, you could take the emergency exit, MegaGirl," Mr. Murphy suggested. "It leads down to our basement, where we store new pieces for the museum. You can get out through the loading dock."  
  
"Thanks, Mr. Murphy," MegaGirl replied as she and Misty headed down a hall to a door marked EMERGENCY EXIT. She found herself on a metal staircase leading down into the massive basement below, filled with several large crates and storage lockers.  
  
"Whoa! This basement is nothing but a huge maze!" MegaGirl muttered out loud as she reached the bottom of the stairs and started walking through the basement. As she turned a corner, MegaGirl stopped dead in her tracks and quickly ran back around the corner to avoid being seen.  
  
"Uh-oh!" MegaGirl gasped as she peered around the corner at the four robots standing there. "It's ProtoMan, GutsMan, CutMan, and BrightMan. What are they doing here? Only one way to find out!" MegaGirl took in a deep breath before she activated her plasma cannon and quickly turned the corner.  
  
"All right, bots! Hands up in the air, or I'll blast you all into scrap metal!" MegaGirl shouted as she aimed her plasma cannon at Wily's robots. MegaGirl was surprised when the robots didn't respond to her.  
  
"Didn't you hear me? Hands up now!" MegaGirl shouted as she slowly approached ProtoMan. She cautiously reached her hand out and tapped ProtoMan on the shoulder. To her surprise, ProtoMan fell over like a piece of cheap plywood. MegaGirl knelt down and rapped her knuckles against ProtoMan's head, discovering that it was mysteriously hollow.  
  
"This isn't ProtoMan! It's a fake!" Suspicious about the others, MegaGirl quickly checked GutsMan, CutMan, and BrightMan and got the same results she did with ProtoMan. "They're all fakes! But Mr. Murphy said that there was only one set of those fiberglass statutes in existence. Something's not right here. I better go tell MegaMan about this right away."  
  
Misty turned her head around when she heard a strange noise and saw a suspicious figure in the shadows that was sneaking up on her and MegaGirl. To MegaGirl's surprise, Misty started flapping her wings and letting out a loud screech.  
  
"Misty, what's wrong?" MegaGirl asked when Misty abruptly took off in the air. As MegaGirl stood up, she was startled to feel a cannon being pressed against her back.  
  
"You won't be telling my Mega Bro anything!"  
  
MegaGirl turned her head around and narrowed her eyes angrily when she saw ProtoMan standing behind her with a small smirk on his face. "ProtoMan!" MegaGirl gasped loudly.  
  
"You got it, babe!" ProtoMan remarked.  
  
"Don't call me babe!" MegaGirl muttered angrily through gritted teeth.  
  
"Unless you wanna be a pile of scrap, put your hands behind your back now!" ProtoMan ordered.  
  
MegaGirl reluctantly did as ProtoMan asked and watched as he took a thick metal coil and wrapped it around her wrists, sealing the ends together with a small blast from his plasma cannon.  
  
"And just to make sure you don't escape, right this way," ProtoMan remarked as he pushed MegaGirl towards an empty metal storage locker. After forcing MegaGirl into the locker, ProtoMan locked the locker and sealed the edges of the door shut with his plasma cannon.  
  
"Hey! Let me out!" MegaGirl shouted as she tried desperately to force the door open by pushing against it using her back with no luck.  
  
"Don't worry your pretty little head, MegaGirl. I'll let you out...when I come back for you!" ProtoMan confessed with a quick laugh as he turned around and left MegaGirl alone in the basement, or so he thought.  
  
When she no longer heard ProtoMan's footsteps echoing off of the basement walls, MegaGirl called out, "Misty, come here, girl!" Misty let out a soft whistle as she landed in front of the locker's sealed door.  
  
"Listen up, Misty. I'm tied up, so I can't bust out of here on my own," MegaGirl instructed her robotic bird. "You need to find MegaMan right away and lead him back here. Now, please hurry, before ProtoMan comes back!" Misty chirped in agreement as she flew towards the loading dock...  
  
"Aren't you at all excited about that new exhibit, Mega?" Roll asked curiously as she, MegaMan, Rush, and Dr. Light walked into the laboratory building that they called home.  
  
"Yeah, I am, but it's no big deal, Roll," MegaMan admitted. "I'm honored that the museum's dedicating a new display to me and everything, but there's no need for it. I'm just doing my job."  
  
"MegaMan, you're the most modest robot I've ever known!" Roll confessed.  
  
"We should get plenty of rest tonight. It's getting late and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," Dr. Light suggested as he suppressed a yawn.  
  
"Good night, Dr. Light," MegaMan replied as Dr. Light left the laboratory, heading towards his bedroom.  
  
"Huh?" Roll gasped slightly as she looked up at a small window.  
  
"What's wrong, Roll?" MegaMan asked curiously.  
  
"I thought I heard something," Roll replied. Just then, the two robots heard the sound again, of something tapping against the glass window.  
  
"Look!" Roll announced as she pointed up at a small metal bird that was tapping her beak against the window to get their attention.  
  
"What's Misty doing here?" MegaMan asked curiously as Roll pressed a button on the control panel, opening the window and allowing Misty to fly into the lab. The mechanical blue bird chirped frantically as she impatiently hopped up and down on the floor.  
  
"Umm...any idea what she's saying?" Roll asked curiously.  
  
"I don't know, Roll. I guess Dr. Light didn't install a voice chip into Misty so she could talk," MegaMan replied.  
  
Suddenly, Misty leapt up high in the air, spread out her wings, and glided over to Dr. Light's mainframe computer.  
  
"What is she doing?" Roll asked curiously as she, MegaMan, and Rush ran over to the mainframe, where Misty was pressing several keys on the control panel with her beak.  
  
"Looks like she's typing something," MegaMan muttered out loud when he noticed the series of letters appearing on the screen. "MegaGirl in trouble. Museum of Science."  
  
"I thought MegaGirl left the museum before we did. What is she still doing there?" Roll wondered aloud.  
  
"I'll bet half my memory chips that Wily has something to do with this," MegaMan muttered thoughtfully. "I better check this out. Come on, Rush!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Rush barked as he quickly converted into jet mode...  
  
"Look, there's a guard. Maybe he saw something," MegaMan announced as he pointed to a security guard patrolling the outside of the Museum of Science. He had just reached the loading dock when MegaMan, Rush, and Misty landed on the ground.  
  
"MegaMan? What are you doing here?" the guard asked curiously.  
  
"I'm looking for MegaGirl. Have you seen her around here?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"I'm afraid not, MegaMan. The last person to leave the museum was Mr. Murphy," the guard revealed.  
  
"Are you sure? MegaGirl was going to leave through the loading dock," MegaMan inquired.  
  
"I've only seen our workers pass through the loading dock. I'm sorry I can't be of any further help," the guard apologized.  
  
"Would it be all right if we check inside, just in case?" MegaMan requested.  
  
"Certainly, MegaMan," the guard agreed as he approached the door for the loading dock and unlocked it.  
  
"Thank you, sir," MegaMan replied as he and Rush followed Misty into the museum's basement. "MegaGirl, are you down here?"  
  
"Ruff-ruff! MegaGirl, yoo-hoo!" Rush barked.  
  
"MegaMan!" they heard MegaGirl's voice echo from somewhere nearby, but they couldn't exactly pinpoint where her voice was coming from.  
  
"MegaGirl, where are you?" MegaMan shouted.  
  
Misty let out a shrill whistle as she landed on top of a large storage locker.  
  
"Mega, look! Look!" Rush barked as he pointed his paw at Misty.  
  
"She must be in there. Looks like someone messed with this locker," MegaMan muttered thoughtfully when he noticed the singe marks around the edges of the door. MegaMan and Rush quickly ran over to the storage locker that Misty was perched on.  
  
"MegaGirl, are you in there?"  
  
"Yeah, Mega. ProtoMan locked me in here," MegaGirl revealed.  
  
"Stand back, MegaGirl. I'll blast you out," MegaMan announced as he took a couple of steps back and fired a blast of plasma power at the lock, melting a hole into the side of the door. MegaMan stuck his hand through the hole and, using his robotic strength, pulled the door off by its hinges.  
  
"MegaMan! Boy, am I glad to see you!" MegaGirl exclaimed happily as she stepped out of the locker.  
  
"Just hold still, MegaGirl," MegaMan instructed as he used a small blast of plasma power to melt the metal coil off of MegaGirl's wrists.  
  
"Thanks a lot, MegaMan!" MegaGirl admitted as she embraced him.  
  
MegaMan had a strange feeling from the hug. He knew it wasn't a bad feeling, but it was something he never experienced before. MegaMan quickly shook it off as MegaGirl let go of him.  
  
"Any idea what ProtoMan's doing here?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"I don't know, but whatever it is, ProtoMan's not alone," MegaGirl explained. "He's with GutsMan, CutMan, and BrightMan. They've been posing as part of the new exhibit dedicated to you the whole time."  
  
"With all the inventions in this museum, who knows what Wily's after?" MegaMan muttered thoughtfully to himself. "Come on, we gotta stop them!"  
  
"I'm with you, Mega," MegaGirl agreed as she, Misty, and Rush followed MegaMan...  
  
"We're all set here, Wily," ProtoMan told Dr. Wily through his communicator.  
  
"Be very careful with that supercomputer brain, ProtoMan. It may be a few years outdated, but with a few special modifications, it'll help me come up with even more brilliant plans to take over the world!" Dr. Wily openly confessed with a sinister cackle.  
  
"Don't fry your brain, Doc! We'll get it!" ProtoMan boasted.  
  
"You better get it for me, ProtoMan, or I'll have all of you recycled into garage cans!" Dr. Wily muttered threateningly before turning off the connection.  
  
"Come on , let's go," ProtoMan whispered as he parted the curtain that separated him, CutMan, GutsMan, and BrightMan from the rest of the Robotics Wing.  
  
"We can't go just yet, ProtoMan. Look," BrightMan announced as he pointed down at the floor. ProtoMan looked down and saw what BrightMan was pointing at: several red lasers crisscrossing the floor in a grid pattern.  
  
"Great, motion detectors. If we go through them, the place will be swarming with police," ProtoMan muttered out loud as he looked around the room. A small smirk spread across his face when he spotted a small metal box on the wall near the exit.  
  
"That's the control box for the security system in this section. Think you can hit it from here, CutMan?" ProtoMan asked curiously.  
  
"No problem, ProtoMan," CutMan admitted as he lifted his arm cannon, took careful aim, and fired a scissor blade at the control box. The white scissor blade soon became deeply embedded into the control box, causing it to short-circuit. Within moments, the lasers flickered on and off before shutting down completely.  
  
"Good work, CutMan," ProtoMan admitted as he walked towards the display case holding the supercomputer brain, followed by BrightMan, CutMan, and GutsMan. "This is the only one in existence," ProtoMan whispered as he reached for the glass dome covering the supercomputer brain.  
  
"That's why you're leaving it right where it belongs, ProtoMan!" MegaGirl announced.  
  
ProtoMan quickly turned around and smirked slightly when he saw MegaGirl standing in the doorway, along with MegaMan, Rush, and Misty.  
  
"So, I see that my little brother helped you escape, MegaGirl," ProtoMan remarked. "But, you won't escape from me this time!"  
  
"Look out!" MegaMan shouted as he pushed MegaGirl out of the way of ProtoMan's incoming plasma blast. "It's not nice to mess with someone with plasma power, bro!" MegaMan announced as he fired his plasma cannon at ProtoMan, who fired back at him.  
  
"MegaMan, be careful with the displays! Most of them are irreplaceable!" MegaGirl warned MegaMan.  
  
"Don't worry, MegaGirl, I'll be careful," MegaMan reassured his partner.  
  
"Hey, MegaMan! Long time, no see!" BrightMan announced as he jumped up in the air and landed in front of MegaMan, Rush, MegaGirl, and Misty.  
  
"BrightMan!" MegaMan exclaimed.  
  
"That's me! Ha-ha! And I'm here to light up your lives...with ten thousand watts, that is!" BrightMan admitted as the light bulb on top of his head instantly turned on, filling the entire room with an incredibly bright light.  
  
"Ahh! I can't see!" MegaMan shouted as he turned away from BrightMan and shielded his eyes with his arms.  
  
"I can't see, either!" MegaGirl confessed as she covered her eyes as well, along with Rush and Misty.  
  
"Come on! Let's grab that computer brain and get outta here!" ProtoMan announced as he carefully removed the glass dome that was covering the supercomputer brain.  
  
"I gotta...stop them...before it's...too late!" MegaMan groaned under his breath as he fired his plasma blaster in a vain attempt to stop Wily's robots.  
  
"Nice try, MegaMan, but you missed me by a long shot!" BrightMan remarked with a sinister laugh as the blast of plasma power flew right past him. He didn't pay attention to the plasma blast as it ricocheted back and forth on the metal walls until it melted through the thick cables that were holding the large replica of the space station. When BrightMan noticed a large shadow surrounding him that was steadily growing larger, he looked up and gasped loudly out of shock when he saw the space station replica falling down from the ceiling.  
  
"Ahh!" BrightMan screamed as he frantically tried to get out of the way, only to end up getting pinned down by the large space station replica.  
  
"I never miss, BrightMan!" MegaMan admitted as he, Rush, MegaGirl, and Misty opened their eyes.  
  
"Nice shot, MegaMan!" MegaGirl admitted as she walked over to BrightMan's head, which was sticking out from underneath the space station replica, and touched BrightMan's forehead. "Now it's my turn to shed a little light around here!" MegaGirl announced as a large light bulb protruded out of her plasma cannon.  
  
MegaMan quickly activated his dark visor and both Rush and Misty covered their eyes before MegaGirl activated the light bulb, flooding the room with an intensely bright light.  
  
"AHH!" ProtoMan, CutMan, and GutsMan shouted as they quickly covered their eyes.  
  
"Can't...see!" ProtoMan complained loudly.  
  
"Now's my chance!" MegaMan admitted as he fired a plasma blast at ProtoMan's arm.  
  
"What the?" ProtoMan gasped loudly as he felt something hit his arm, causing him to drop the supercomputer brain.  
  
As MegaGirl turned off the light bulb, MegaMan quickly ran over to ProtoMan and picked up the supercomputer brain.  
  
"You won't get away with this, little brother!" ProtoMan proclaimed as he eventually brought down his arms and opened his eyes, along with GutsMan and CutMan.  
  
"Just try and get it, bro!" MegaMan shouted as ProtoMan charged towards him.  
  
"Uh-oh!" MegaGirl gasped when she realized that GutsMan and CutMan were both running towards her. "Come on, Misty! Let's fly!"  
  
Misty whistled softly in response as she converted into jet mode. MegaGirl leapt on top of Misty and took off in the air before CutMan and GutsMan could grab her.  
  
"Hey! No fair!" GutsMan complained loudly.  
  
As she flew around on Misty, MegaGirl saw that MegaMan was fighting ProtoMan while trying to keep the supercomputer brain safe from him. "MegaMan, toss it up here!" MegaGirl shouted.  
  
"Sure thing, MegaGirl! Catch!" MegaMan shouted as he threw the computer brain high up in the air.  
  
"I've got it!" MegaGirl announced as she caught the computer brain.  
  
"And I've got you!" ProtoMan announced as he fired a plasma blast at MegaGirl, striking one of Misty's jet engines.  
  
"Oh, no!" MegaGirl exclaimed as she and Misty headed straight towards a suspended bridge next to the solar system mobile. Misty managed to land on the suspended bridge before converting back to her original bird mode. "That's okay, Misty. You did your best," MegaGirl assured Misty.  
  
"I'm gonna flatten the both of ya!" GutsMan shouted as he climbed up a ladder leading up to the suspended bridge.  
  
"Uh-oh!" MegaGirl gasped as she and Misty ran the opposite direction. They soon stopped when they saw that CutMan was blocking their exit.  
  
"I'm cutting you off at the pass, MegaGirl!" CutMan announced.  
  
"Looks like we're caught between a robot and a hard place, Misty!" MegaGirl remarked as she looked back and forth at the two robots as they slowly closed in on her.  
  
As she turned her head towards GutsMan, MegaGirl noticed out of the corner of her eye that the replica of Pluto from the mechanical mobile of the solar system was coming within jumping distance to the suspended bridge that she was on.  
  
"Jump, Misty!" MegaGirl shouted as she and Misty both jumped off of the suspended bridge and barely grabbed onto the replica of Pluto.  
  
"Hey! Get back here!" GutsMan complained as he and CutMan watched the replica of Pluto slowly move away from them, with MegaGirl and Misty on it.  
  
"You won't get away from me, MegaGirl!" CutMan proclaimed as he fired a scissor blade from his arm cannon at the small support beam that was holding the basketball-sized replica of Pluto.  
  
"Jump!" MegaGirl shouted as she and Misty jumped off of Pluto just as the scissor blade cut through its support beam, causing it to fall to the floor below with a loud crash. MegaGirl managed to grab the black ring of the replica of Neptune, which was about as thick as a hula hoop, while Misty landed on top of the bluish-green planet, which was easily over twenty times bigger than the replica of Pluto. As MegaGirl struggled to pull herself up, Misty whistled sharply to get her attention.  
  
"Huh?" MegaGirl gasped when she saw that CutMan was getting ready to fire at her again.  
  
"Not this time, CutMan!" MegaGirl shouted as she quickly fired her plasma cannon at CutMan.  
  
"Ahh!" CutMan shouted as he quickly ducked down to avoid the plasma blast. Unfortunately, GutsMan wasn't so lucky.  
  
"Hey!" GutsMan complained loudly as he looked down at his left arm, which got disconnected from MegaGirl's plasma blast. He quickly picked up the arm with his right hand and reconnected it to his left arm socket.  
  
"Looks like you're falling to pieces, Gutsy!" MegaGirl remarked jokingly.  
  
"You'll pay for that, MegaGirl!" GutsMan proclaimed loudly as he made a flying leap towards MegaGirl and Misty. Fortunately, for MegaGirl and Misty, GutsMan fell just a few feet short of his goal.  
  
"Uh-oh! Ahh!" GutsMan screamed as he frantically scrambled to grab anything, but ended up plummeting down to the floor below. The large construction robot hit the marble floor face-first with a loud thud.  
  
"Gee, GutsMan, I had no idea you were falling for me!" MegaGirl gasped mockingly as she quickly pulled herself on top of the Neptune replica.  
  
"Taking you down is going to be shear delight!" CutMan remarked as he fired the scissor blade from his head at the support beam that connected the Neptune replica to the ceiling.  
  
"Oh, no!" MegaGirl gasped as the scissor blade went through the support beam like a hot knife through butter. "AHH!" MegaGirl screamed as she and Misty plummeted to the marble floor below them.  
  
"Hurry, Misty!" MegaGirl pleaded. Misty chirped softly as she quickly converted into a hang glider. MegaGirl grabbed the handlebar and held on tightly as Misty slowly glided down towards the floor below. "That's it, Misty. MegaMan needs our help right away," MegaGirl confessed as she pointed down at the Blue Bomber, who was showing signs of fatigue from fighting ProtoMan.  
  
"What did I tell ya, little brother? You're no match for me!" ProtoMan boasted as he aimed his plasma cannon directly at MegaMan's head.  
  
"Mind if I drop in, ProtoMan?" MegaGirl shouted as she glided towards ProtoMan on Misty. Before ProtoMan even got a chance to react, MegaGirl kicked him hard in the stomach with both feet, pushing him back towards the emergency exit door.  
  
"Whoa!" ProtoMan shouted as he fell through the doorway and disappeared in the darkness of the storage basement.  
  
"You okay, MegaMan?" MegaGirl asked curiously as she looked back at the Blue Bomber, who was standing up with help from Rush.  
  
"Just a few dings, MegaGirl, but I can live with my damage," MegaMan admitted. "What about the supercomputer brain?"  
  
"I got it right here, Mega," MegaGirl confessed as she showed MegaMan the supercomputer brain. "No way I would let those dumb bots get their hands on it!"  
  
"That's good to hear. Now, let's get ProtoMan!" MegaMan announced as he ran into the storage basement, followed by Rush, MegaGirl and Misty.  
  
"It's too dark in here, MegaMan. How are we ever gonna find him?" MegaGirl asked curiously as MegaMan felt along the wall.  
  
"Hold on, MegaGirl. I found a light switch," MegaMan announced as he flipped a light switch, flooding the museum's storage basement with light.  
  
"ProtoMan could be hiding anywhere," MegaGirl muttered out loud as she, MegaMan, Rush, and Misty walked down the metal staircase.  
  
"We'll split up so we can cover more ground," MegaMan suggested. "Rush and Misty can fly overhead, so they'll have a birds' eye view of the place."  
  
"Good idea, Mega," MegaGirl agreed as she and MegaMan split up, while Misty took off in the air and Rush converted into jet mode before joining the blue robotic bird.  
  
After about twenty minutes of thorough searching, MegaMan and MegaGirl met up with each other at the bottom of the staircase.  
  
"I didn't see any sign of ProtoMan. Any luck, MegaMan?" MegaGirl asked curiously.  
  
"Nothing, MegaGirl. He must have escaped," MegaMan muttered out of disappointment as Rush and Misty joined them.  
  
"Rush, Misty, did you see ProtoMan hiding anywhere?" MegaGirl asked the two robotic animals.  
  
Misty let out a soft whistle as she and Rush both shook their heads no.  
  
"If ProtoMan's gone, then GutsMan, CutMan, and BrightMan are probably gone, too. We better go check," MegaMan announced as he turned around and quickly ran back up the stairs.  
  
"MegaMan, wait up!" MegaGirl shouted as she, Rush, and Misty ran after MegaMan. When the four robots got back to the Robotics Wing of the Museum of Science, they found it completely empty.  
  
"Shoot, they got away!" MegaMan complained.  
  
"At least, they didn't get what they came for," MegaGirl pointed out as she approached the display case, put the supercomputer brain back on the display case, and carefully placed the glass dome back over it.  
  
"Yeah, that's true," MegaMan muttered thoughtfully as MegaGirl rejoined him.  
  
"I need to get home right away. I'm sure dad's worried and I need to get some sleep before school," MegaGirl confessed as she knelt down and picked up Misty. "But, with Misty's jet engine damaged, it's gonna be a long walk home, especially since the buses don't run this late."  
  
"No need to worry about that, MegaGirl. Rush and I will give you a ride home," MegaMan offered. "And I'll take Misty back to Dr. Light's lab so he can repair the damage to her jet engine."  
  
"Thanks, MegaMan. You're the best," MegaGirl admitted with a small smile.  
  
"It's no problem at all, MegaGirl," MegaMan admitted as he, MegaGirl, Rush, and Misty headed back to the emergency exit leading back into the storage basement...TO BE CONTINUED 


End file.
